Shoemaking



Patented Nov. 29, 1938 PATENT o FlcE SHO'EMAKING 1 Edward F. Mathews, Weymouth, Mass. Application May a, 1936, Serial No. 78,607

1 Claim.

This invention relates to shoe making and morev especially to a shoe of novel construction and the method of producing the same. In one aspect the invention contemplates a simplified shoe comprising a sole having its margin so slit inwardly as to provide a marginal leaf integrally attached thereto and adapted in turn to be stitched to an upper with the outer surfaces thereof in face to face contact and providing a tight joint between the upper and sole. After the parts are thus united the said leaf is cemented back to its original position. Such method of producing a shoe is extremely simple, may be carried out without the aid of expensive machinery and results in a shoe of solid construction and conventional design.

The invention more particularly contemplates the manufacture of preformed and hand assemattachment to the upper thereby leaving most of i the sole intact for wearing purposes. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, the sole is slit as above defined and the resulting marginal leaf is adapted to receive the margin of an upper in overlapping relation thereon. This leaf and the margin of the upper are formed with predetermined corresponding perforations thereby adapting them to be united merely by passing the lacing through such perforations and, after the lacing operation has been completed, cementing the leaf back to its original position. The operations result in a shoe of conventional design which can be constructed in a relatively simple manner without the use of expensive machinery and assembled anywhere with simple tools and by unskilled labor.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a shoe embodying my invention, a

Fig. 2 is a cross section through the forepart thereof,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the upper ready to be laced to the sole shown in Fig. 4,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the novel sole of my invention,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form thereof.

While my invention relates primarily to preformed and hand assembledshoes wherein the several parts are fully fabricated ready for assembly merely by lacing the parts together through the predetermined perforations provided in the several parts, it will be apparent that certain features of the invention are not limited to a shoe of this nature. Thus, while I have illustrated and shall herein describe the invention in connection with a preformed and hand assembled shoe, it will be understood that the scope of the invention is limited only as defined in the appended claim.

The upper of my improved shoe comprises a plurality of independent pieces and includes a vamp l0 and an insert 12, quarters l4 and a back stay l6. These several parts are preformed to exact size and shape and their margins are formed with predetermined perforations adapting the several parts to be laced together through such perforations to form the upper shown in Fig. 3, all as more specifically described in my said copending application.

The sole shown in Fig. 4 comprises a single piece [8, and in accordance with my invention I slit the margin of the sole inwardly at 20 to provide a marginal leaf 22 integrally attached to the sole only at its inner edge, and extending entirely around the sole. This leaf is then provided with perforations 24 corresponding substantially to the perforations 26 in the lower margin of the upper. The sole and upper are thereby adapted to be united merely by lacing them together through these perforations. The perforated margin of the upper is turned inwardly so that its outer face contacts with the outer and top face of the marginal leaf 22, and the two margins are secured firmly together by the lacing 28 extending through the perforations. Following this operation the leaf 22 is cemented or stitched back into its original position on the sole whereupon the sole has its original appearance but is attached firmly to the upper. The shoe produced by this method has the appearance of the conventional welt shoe, but it will be readily apparent that its relative simplicity and the simplicity of its production render it more economical to produce and the pre-fabrication of its parts makes it possible to assemble the shoe anywhere with simple tools and unskilled labor.

In the shoe shown in Fig.2 a gap is left between the opposite margins of the upper attached to the sole. This gap may be filled by an innersole or sock lining 32. The form of the invention shown in Fig. 5 is like that already described except that the sole 34 is recessed at 36 whereby to receive the upper margin flush with the top surface of the sole. It will be apparent that this form requires no filler within the shoe. This shoe is otherwise the same as shown in Figs. 1-3 and above described.

While the shoe illustrated in the drawing embodies a single sole it will be understood that a second outer sole may be provided if desired. In such case the first sole is formed with a row of perforations therethrough adjacent to and along 1 its margin and a corresponding row of perforations is formed through the second sole. The

second sole may be attached to the first sole by margin forming a marginal leaf, said leaf having 10 perforations therethrough, raising said leaf, providing an upper having a perforated margin, lacing said raised leaf and upper together by hand, and then securing said leaf in its original position.

EDWARD F. MATHEWS. 

